


Callsign: Zephyr

by SomebodyisAnonymous



Category: Titanfall
Genre: I'm Sorry, I'm trying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-06 10:04:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15192434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomebodyisAnonymous/pseuds/SomebodyisAnonymous
Summary: A story based of an AU where Titans actively look for pilots if they do not have one. It follows JJ, and all her adventures on Typhon.





	1. How does a rifleman become a pilot?

Many people know the story about how once-rifleman-now-pilot Jack Cooper got BT 7274. Many people also know that that doesn't happen often, like getting stuck by lightning in the desert while hopping on one leg often. The way most become pilots is through rigorous training, testing, running around sims and jumping over really tall shit. That's for most of us, while others get a trial by fire, I mean literal fire too.

Now as for me, I was just a grunt, a rifle man that several pilots had taken for granted. Well, rifle- woman; there's not a lot of female militia that I've met, but those of us here blend in well with our brothers in arms. Most of the squads with women have another female or two in it so we rare few aren't wide spread. As soon as a pilot notices it, they get real annoying about it, so most people don't correct them. Most grunts don't care too much as long as you can shoot a gun, but, god pilots can be douchey with that information. Don't even get me started on the pinup girls on Titans. Ah, well let me get on with it; I'm about to tell you about a very significant event in my life, but first a little background.

My name is Jeannine Olivia Johnson, or JJ, my family stayed home while I went to the Frontier. My life was pretty boring until I joined the militia, and I joined 'cause I faced the same problem that everyone else faced, the IMC. I used to live on this farming colony, beautiful place, serene almost with all the forests and intense wildlife. Originally the IMC kept to a small private mine, drilling for whatever ore our lovely planet had, and no one had any issues. However, they started expanding into people's land, hollowing large segments out so that it would collapse into sinkholes forcing people to leave or end up hurt, and causing huge tremors. Things only got worse from there.

Now, I've served a while with my squad, Callsign Zephyr. With our years of experience, we have enough skill and ability to become pilots, hell we've all done the sims, but no one's planning on it because we're all too close. We've never left anyone behind for anything and weren't gonna risk getting separated 'cause we were all a close-knit family. Of course, everyone in my squad knows I'm a girl, but everyone else outside of our squad won't realize until they actually talk to me and they use that to fuck with people. It's hard to see any feminine features in body armor and dirt with a short-shaved haircut. Or maybe it's the large scar on my face from a specter at Demeter. The metal bastard punched me real hard, square in the chin, causing a scar up to the cheekbone.

Now I look real pretty. Like, in a bad ass way.


	2. Now we're getting into it

My squad and I were some of the first escape pods sent down, along with a few Titans. My adrenaline was rising during the fall, but the damn IMC was shooting at our pods from both their orbital cannons on the surface and their ships in orbit. If only the bastards had bad aim, some damage might've been done to their sips, but no such luck occurred, Of course, I had the luck to have a round explode near me, sending me off trajectory, in a spin. In hindsight it could've been  _a lot_  worse, so I really shouldn't complain. The blast and the g-forces knocked me unconscious almost immediately, and I wasn't awake when I landed, or well, more correctly, crashed. When my pod's automated system woke me up, I laid in my pod, an intense vertigo and ringing in my ears reminding me of what had just happened and lingered a bit longer 'cause Typhon wasn't going anywhere. Things cleared up quickly as the automated system shot me with adrenaline and I realized that there was a firefight right outside on my front porch. I wasn't even fully conscious yet when the shit had hit the fan. On high speed.

I took a second to orient myself physically and mentally and gathered a lot of information from a quick glance at my HUD before ejecting my door. My actual squad was scattered, nowhere near me, but I did find that I was nearby a ragtag group of militia. They were hiding in a what looked like the entrance to a small cave. I hid in the crater my pod had created, and between the cave and my pod was clear. I needed to move; looking around, I saw I was next to a tree line, close enough to make it in a sprint, but not with bullets in the air. The trees and rocks were alive with bullets, but most were coming from the militia, passing over me.  _"Cover fire, so they know I'm alive, that makes my life easier."_

Scanning the trees and field, I saw IMC bodies, specters and grunts both, but no movement. The militia in the cave stopped firing, satisfied that they had cleared it up enough. Rising out of my safety, I sprinted, ducking into the trees for cover, just in case, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. I jumped over rocks, darted over trees and made a beeline for the group. About halfway to the cave the firefight reignited, the sound of bullets hitting metal made me run faster. As I headed into a small clearing just before the cave entrance, my radio started picking up static. I couldn't hear anything over the firefight and my own breathing.  _"God, I hope it's ours"._  Through my radio static and heavy breathing came a clear,  _"_ _ **Prepare for Titanfall**_ _"_  that every grunt loves to hear. Titans do all the heavy work for us grunts, meaning we worshipped the things and their convenient timing. Then as loud as thunder, was the recognizable sound of a Titan entering atmosphere. However fortunate that we get the assistance of a Titan, it was unfortunate for me, as it's landing zone was where I was about to run into. " _How convenient_ ". I don't think I've ran so hard in my life, I think I cleared that zone faster than a Pilot could've with a jumpkit.

I got to the other side of the landing zone just in time to be knocked over by the shockwave from the incoming Titan. The resulting dust cloud covered me from any incoming fire, not to mention the 20-foot blue-and-green Vanguard class Titan in front of me. I clambered over to the cave and scrambled inside just before the Titan got busy killing things. In front of me were handful of brand new baby militia, in awe of the Titan before them. Finally, one looked at me, grunting, "Took you long enough." I wasn't sure if he meant my marathon, or the fact I was unconscious in my pod for an unknown amount of time, but I didn't really care, as I had just noticed I was the highest rank there. "What's the situation?", I asked this just as a few of the riflemen had snapped out of their awe and had started aiding the Titan outside. The one who talked to me, Jasons, just looked at me before finally realizing I had asked him a question over the gunfire. "Captain Cole set up a rendezvous somewhere, we aren't a squad but we're what we've got, and that Titan there now, too-," he nodded toward the Titan as it proceeded to smash into a specter. "We're all the same rank here," he paused, " 'cept you." " _Lovely, well at least I have assistance from a Titan_ ". Apparently the Titan had finished mopping up IMC forces in the area, as it approached the entrance, having to crouch slightly to look into it. Its baritone voice rang out and echoed in our little safe haven. "Militia forces, I am ZP-4715, all IMC forces in the area are eliminated. We must proceed to the rendezvous.". Its giant blue eye scanned the lot of us and of course, focused on me. "Have you done any recon in the area?" it asked as its lenses adjusted making slightly audible whirring noises. It was still looking at me. "Well, I just got here around the same time as you and these guys have been pinned down here by the looks of it, how 'bout you send your Pilot to the to the top of that outcropping there," I sighed, while gesturing to said location, watching as the Titan adjusted to look at where I was pointing. "It might give a better view of the area, but-," The Titan interrupted me, "I do not have one." And just as I was going to continue, Jasons piped up, "'One' what?"

"I do not have a pilot".


	3. I believe I can fly

"I heard you correct, right? You say you have no pilot?" Jasons and the others were simply baffled. The Titan didn't even bother to look over at him, "Affirmative". It was still analyzing me, and I mildly uncomfortable under its scrutinizing gaze. "Well I'll tell you what ZP-", I sighed and shifted awkwardly, knowing that it would only keep staring until something happened, "give me a boost to that ledge just below the top, I'll climb up and do your recon." The ledge was about thirty meters below the recon point on the outcropping and I knew full and well that it would be a pain. Jasons looked at me concerned, saying something along the lines of "that's a long a while to climb" and someone else grunted "you're no pilot". I looked at ZP awaiting a response, "Well, how 'bout it? I can remove my ruck for now and that'll be easy enough to climb". I was bluffing, I didn't have a jumpkit to catch me if I fell or any of the climbing gear, but I wasn't going to show anyone my nervousness, as I had adopted my position as "Mother Hen". ZP seemed to gather that the risk was worth the information that could be gained, "I recommend you leave your rucksack with these riflemen here." Before ZP had said this, my ruck was already off my back, and I had set off a lot faster than the Titan seemed prepared for. I began walking across the clearing towards the outcropping when ZP put its hand in front of me. "It will be faster if you let me carry you." I looked at the Titan, "I thought you guys only do that kinda thing with pilots."

"I do not have a pilot."

"Ah, yes, I almost forgot."

"I'm detecting sarcasm"

I climbed into the Titan's hand, after which it proceeded to give me a "finger" to hold onto as it crossed the clearing in a few seconds. I was disoriented from the vertical ascent, but it quickly cleared by the awe of being in a Titan's grasp. I've seen plenty of Titan's in action and had to run around them mid-combat, and god, that's a bitch to do, especially when they are unleashing a core. (Salvo cores are the worst.) Never have I been in, on or in the hands of a Titan and I had to keep childish glee from showing.  _"It's more fun than I thought"_

ZP got to the ledge, flattened out it's palm as a platform for me to stand on, and proceeded to inspect me some more. Looking up the ledge, I saw that it was far more than 30 meters to go, but I'd make it without all of my armor and weapons. I began to remove my arm and leg armor, only leaving my helmet and chest piece on and left it in ZP's palm. I set my rifle there as well which prompted, "You are going into unknown area, and I cannot aid you there. It is not recommended that you leave your weapons here". I didn't look up, feeling naked without all of my armor, and bundled all my belongings together "And that's why I'm keeping my pistol…" I droned out into a stretch, swung my arms, and prepared my body for the climb.

Looking towards the ledge, I backed up a bit, jumped onto it. I had leapt out at the last second and managed to cling to it. " _This is gonna be fun"_  Once I stabilized myself on the ledge, I turned to look back the Titan who was inspecting the small partial set of armor in its hand when its blue lenses turned to look at me. "I will maintain radio contact with you during your reconnaissance and will monitor your video feed." I nodded slightly and returned my attention to the wall that needed climbing. Most people that climb walls and other things try not to look down afterwards to avoid vertigo, but of course everyone does, including me. As I looked against better judgement, I saw that ZP had moved backwards to watch me, or possibly catch me, I don't know which.  _"It is not recommended that you look down."_  ZP's voice came through my helmet's headset. Under other circumstances, I probably would have jumped, but I didn't quite have that option at that moment. I kept climbing through my weakening strength and progressively sorer muscles for what felt like a few hours but was only thirty minutes or so. I didn't ever bother to look up as I feared I would only see that I had more to go. I guess somebody decided that I needed a break as I had found the top edge soon after my muscle began burning. I clambered over the edge and remained on the ground as I tried to regain control over my breathing and rest my body for second.  _"Are you alright rifleman?"_  I peered over the edge, looking down at the Titan below me. The Titan was seemingly small compared to its normal size. "Yeah," I wheezed, staring at the blue dot that was its optics, "and call me JJ". There was slight static before the Titan responded.  _"Noted."_

* * *

As I stood on the ledge looking over everything in the nearby landscape, a memory of my home came back to me. Typhon was just as breathtakingly beautiful as my home was. To the south were mountains, and to the north, was a luscious forest. To the east, the landscape transitioned from said forest to mountains, and there was a giant waterfall on a giant rock-faced cliff around the middle of it all. The resulting river carved a path through the forest, and along it, a gathering of small buildings, most likely a town or something. There were lights flickering and small explosions, more than likely they were huge, and I just couldn't tell because of the distance. Further down the stream was a dam, it was not the largest of them, but big enough to power the aforementioned outpost in addition to powering a small town, probably. I looked around my own location to make sure I was still in the clear. The rocky outcropping was actually a flat of smooth rock jutting out from a dense forest, with no cover on it whatsoever. Which, of course, meant I stood out like a sore thumb. Suddenly, I felt the all too familiar sense of imminent danger, and I wished for the Titan to be there, and I missed my rifle dearly. I scanned the edge of the forest and found quick, inhuman movement. No IMC grunt moved like that, it was too… precise. I decided not to risk any more time in the open and darted for the nearest cover I had, trees. I must have moved at the right moment, since the area I was just standing at became pocked by bullet holes. I scanned for what shot at me as I ducked for cover behind a thick tree. And then I saw it, a metallic flash of gray and red, meaning Specters. "Oh, joy" I sighed. "ZP-" I glanced around my tree, "do you have a sonar knife?" If I could see them before they saw me I'd be able to something as a means for defending myself.  _"Please have a sonar knife."_  I ducked back into my cover just as ZP replied with, _"Negative_ ". Hearing the Titan's voice was soothing, oddly enough. I held my pistol at the ready and scanned again for anything that gave away the specters' locations. I spotted the glowing red sights of a gun poking out from a tree close by to me. I took my grenade off my belt readied it, and hailed ZP again. "Do you think that if I jumped off this ledge could you catch me?" The Titan responded instantly "Affirmative, but it is not rec- ". I sighed knowing that there was no way I'd have time to climb down, the specters would catch up and more than likely I'd get shot. "Get ready to catch me!" I yelled as lobbed the grenade to where the sights were still poking out. As I threw the grenade, I immediately turned to towards the ledge and began sprinting and when I got there, the Titan below angled itself to catch me. Around its feet were the ragtag group of militia from the cave, way too small to see any detail. I stood at the ledge, peering down, fear rooting me to my spot.

It was stupid to think I could jump, there was no way I could jump. Before I could convince myself to do anything at all, the signature clink of a grenade rolled off somewhere behind me and I found courage like no other. As I leapt off the edge, the grenade, which turned out to be my grenade, exploded and caused me to lose all control of my descent. I had planned to jump how we are trained for long falls, feet first, but I was going to end up landing on my left leg and shoulder before I had any time to adjust. I closed my eyes and waited for fate to tear me a new one, I felt ZP's hand close around me as he seemingly snatched me out of there. As my body impacted the hard metal, I felt my shoulder dislocate, and my leg felt like it shattered. I didn't stay awake for very long after that, as I started slipping into unconsciousness while enclosed in ZP's hand. Before I fully slipped away from the pain, I heard the Titan and the squad open fire on the ledge, or maybe on the specters. I felt ZP move me somewhere, and in my already fading consciousness it seemed dark, and very comfortable. As I fully fell asleep, I heard the Titan say, "She is injured, but alive".


	4. Namesake

When I awoke it was still dark and the pain in my arm was searing. Immediately I remembered what happened and then briefly thought I had gone blind before I realized why it seemed so dark. I was in ZP's cockpit, and damn it was comfy and man inside a Titan was cool as shit. Literally, however it was warm and cozy. "Are you alright?" ZP asked, but it had asked this through its internal speakers, which made me jump sending searing pain through my body. "I did not mean to scare you. Are you alright?" it repeated. "It's okay," I said, "I just, I think my shoulder is dislocated". ZP of course had the ability to monitor inside itself, which isn't really surprising, but I had forgotten that there was a Titan watching me. "Your leg is damaged as well but after some time the soreness should dissipate, however, your vital signs are showing that you are seemingly distressed, is there anything else?" I looked around the dark cabin, "It's just dark, I can't see anything-" I was going to continue when ZP's display flickered to life. It was night outside, and ZP was standing to the left of the cave entrance. Down at its feet, the ragtag squad slept, except for two, Jasons and someone else, who served as watchmen as well. Since I had woken up I had been avoiding relocating my shoulder, but it needed to be done before severe damage was done. I grunted from the resulting pain, enough to nearly knock me out again, which got concern from the Titan. "Is there anything you need, JJ?" It was weird hearing a Titan say my nickname, as Titans normally don't even look at grunts. "No, I'm just in pain, I took a pretty hard landing and relocation is always a bitch no matter how badass you are". My body was intensely sore and my head had started throbbing. "Your mobility without a jumpkit is impressive. Have you ever considered enlisting as a pilot?" I sighed, reminiscing about my small adopted family, forged in the frontlines. "I used to be in the squad, we served a long time together, we did all the sims, we all were more than capable. We all joked about becoming pilots, but no one would ever leave because we were all too attached." I didn't know I had teared up, but I must've because I felt tears on my arm. I don't cry at much but that squad was my family, and I knew deep down I was never going to see them again. "My condolences" ZP said quietly.

I calmed myself down and looked around, next to me, there was a small gap between the seat and cabin wall with a bag from my ruck in it. "I did not know whether or not you would need anything in it, so I asked Jasons to grab it for you." Titans cockpits are comfortable enough but cramped nonetheless, so my stuff being there was…special. "I appreciate it", I sifted through my personal affects and found some mild painkillers, knowing that they would barely anything for the pain. After taking them, I was still tired and babying my arm and swollen shoulder, meaning I didn't feel like clambering out of the Titan until the painkillers did something, so I decided to talk to my host. "So, what's your story ZP? Why don't you have a pilot?" ZP didn't respond immediately and shifted its position. From the display I could tell that the Titan was now squatting, bending over the squad below it. "My previous pilot was killed in action. I was aboard the MCS James MacAllan to be assigned a new pilot, however we were attacked. Rather than possibly be lost in the crash, I was deployed to aid any militia forces until otherwise notified."

I was silent for a little while, not sure whether or not to try and comfort the Titan, before deciding to fill the Titan in on my recon, even though it, he, had seen it through my helmet feed. "I saw a dam northeast of here, and an outpost along the stream river feeding into it. There are mountain ranges to the south of us and a ridge line with a large waterfall to the west." As the Titan showed his calculations of our location to me, I watched the watchmen trade off, their dialogue silent to me. "According to this data, the nearest RV is over 1000 kilometers away. I suggest we start moving at dawn."

"What about that outpost I saw? There was a firefight going on there earlier."

"I am not getting any militia reports from that area. This is our only option."

I unpacked a snack bar from my ruck pack, "Well, I guess so, but these guys need their rest, we'll head out in the morning." I took a bite of my cardboard flavored bar, but the warm comfort and low hum of the Titan shortly lulled me to sleep. I don't know for certain or not, seeing as I was already falling into deep sleep, but I swear I heard ZP say "Rest well."

I had fallen asleep with the bar still in my lap, and crumbs strewn down my unkept "uniform". ZP had let me sleep in until around 8:30 in the morning, and had awakened me to the sounds of the forest we were in. When I was awake enough to aware of things, ZP turned on his display for me to see that the squad had begun moving. I stretched and my joints groaned in response, my shoulder greatly protesting every movement, and I groaned as well. After my complaints stopped ZP greeted me, "Since you are still wounded, I thought it best I let you sleep to aid in your recovery." I was unable to sit still, even though there was great pain in motion. "Thanks, but I think I need to get up and move." Even though very sore, sitting immobile seemed to be growing more painful with each passing minute. ZP stopped walking and opened his hatch and brought his hand up flat so I could step out on it, rather than jump down to the ground. The squad in front of ZP noticed his lack of movement and stopped around him in formation. "Mornin' sleeping beauty," Jasons piped up at me, "Decided to join the living?". I chuckled and ZP placed me gently on the ground. "Where's my gun and gear?" Jasons pointed back up at the Titan. "I think he likes you." he wooed at me. I rolled my eyes as I looked back up at the Titan who was grabbing my ruck from atop of him.

I started walking, with a slight limp, which prompted everyone else to do continue on. I looked at this new group I was with, and I decided to make us a squad, an "official" fireteam. There were six of us, me, Robbins, Pedroza, Luberto, Jasons, and Harvey. "I was thinking about something to call ZP, like a nickname for him" Pedroza said. The Titan tried to answer with, "ZP-4715, ZP is my shortened name-"

"I know that, but that sounds like 'Zippy' and you're… not  _that_  fast" Luberto said. The Titan looked down at the rifleman with one of his secondary cameras, "I am faster than you." This prompted the rest of the squad to start ragging on Luberto, who was still quite peppy even though he had just been passive aggressively insulted by the Titan. I began mulling over nicknames for the Titan, and muttered out, "Zephyr" in the middle of all my soft mutterings. I hadn't expected anyone to hear it, or even any of the other muttering that I had mumbled out, but Jasons had heard it, all of it, quite clearly. "Zephyr?" Jasons asked a bit quiet, but Harvey next to him heard. "Hey yeah, that works great!". Pedroza and Luberto demanded to know what was said, and eventually Zephyr was almost completely decided upon. All that was left was for ZP and I to confirm it but before either of us could say anything, Luberto asked "where did that come idea come from?". I sighed and looked around at the young faces around me, "Fireteam Zephyr was my old squad, and I'm not too sure where they're all at now.". The everyone in the squad became somber almost, reminded that we could face death at any minute, well everyone except Luberto who seemed as bubbly as drunk blonde. ZP spoke from behind me, "It is a more than adequate callsign, and it's not registered as a nickname for any other Titan." The squad all peered at me for my approval, as I was the only one left who hadn't voiced my opinion. I sighed and nodded, Luberto whooped, while the others all showed their excitement in their own way. Even if I never see my squad again, at least they will be remembered, if only as a Titan.


	5. Going for a Trip

As I got to know my squad I learned they all have plenty of quirks. Pedroza whistled a lot, and Robbins would sing or hum along as well. The best part was if he had the song in his database Zephyr would play it, and over the Titans speakers, anything sounded good. I was always on alert scanning trees and what not, but since Zephyr kept up on all available radio wavelengths, IMC and militia, I wasn’t too restrictive on Miltia silence protocols. We all knew that as soon as Zephyr picked up anything suspicious, we’d immediately go dark. I had made our temporary objective the outpost I saw, as I knew we would need to scavenge supplies, or end up living completely off the land. We all had been taught basic survival skills, but it wasn’t anything we preferred to do, like going to the bathroom without toilet paper. Harvey kept bragging about all sorts of shit, especially saying he could hunt, but nothing ever came of it. He also had a problem of pestering Zephyr with philosophical questions, and of course the Titan answered. Occasionally, Zephyr would spot some edible fruits and either grab them himself or he would have us do it. I was still intensely sore, but I was insistent upon trying to keep up with everyone else, out of both pride and not wanting to be a burden. I did some slight climbing, to get fruits just barely out of reach, and both the Titan and the squad would stop to watch me. _“Great, I’m being babied by the babies.”._

Zephyr seemed to enjoy his new callsign, he still responded to ZP, but everyone seemed to prefer Zephyr, even if it was longer. There wasn't anything explicitly said or done to indicate this, other than everyone was more personable with the Titan, and he too talked more. He became more interactive in keeping everyone's morale up. Everyone was doing something to help keep spirits up, to keep our minds from wandering, and to keep us going. We had quite a long way to go in unknown and probably hostile territory, but only after 2 days into our journey everyone was acting and working like we've known each other for years. We had set up a rotation on who would walk and who would find a spot on the Titan. At night Zephyr would cradle 4 squad members in his hands and arms and the other two would walk alongside him. The Titan tried to talk with everyone more but was always trying to talk to me the most, and he even requested that I be paired with him for rotations. I ended up doing multiple rotations, one with Jasons at night and the other with ZP in the mornings. He insisted that I was to ride on top of him for the night rotation, which meant that he was carrying the whole fireteam. It’s alright riding a Titan, if you don't mind heights and constantly ducking under tree branches (which got tiring very quickly).

The Titan couldn't come up with conversation well, so he talked about how Titan/Pilot System worked. He explained things like how the neural link works, how Titans operated without pilots, and even how to take one down more effectively without anti-Titan gear. Zephyr was in the middle of an in-depth explanation of the neural link between pilots and Titans when I got clotheslined by a branch. I was wearing all my gear, so it didn’t hurt all that bad, it was just that I had almost fallen off the Titan. I had caught myself on one of the Titans footholds and clambered back on top when Pedroza and Robbins started laughing below me. The others realized what had happened and burst out laughing from their spots on the Titan’s arms, prompting a glare form me. They started laughing even harder when Zephyr grabbed me and placed me in his cockpit.

After that I started riding in the Titan, prompting taunts from my squad, something about "branching out", and "why are you leafing". Little did they know I was actually laughing as well. “All scans indicate no damage, are you alright?” I was still laughing quite hard, calming down somewhat, but still unable answer. Suddenly, my stomach fell, and I was pressed into the seat. There was rumbling, and I felt a harsh sense of vertigo, but Zephyr had turned off the display, leaving me in dark, literally. "Zephyr?" Still more silence, "ZP!?". The display flickered on, "Are you alright?" Zephyr's baritone voice filled the cabin. "Yeah, I'm fine, what about you? What happened?" The Titan was silent for a second, leaving me to study the display. "I have fallen-" I tried to keep down a laugh, but failed, resulting in an ugly snort. The Titan continued, ignoring me, "functions are at 100% and everything is intact." I snorted and stopped laughing and radioed my squad to find out what exactly happened. Someone, I think Pedroza was still laughing, in the background as Jasons spoke. Apparently watching a Titan fall was hilarious.

According to Jasons, we had been walking along a cliff edge, far enough away to not fall off, but there was a section that could not support the 40-ton Titan. It gave way, and thus the tumble. As Jasons reported that they were all okay, Zephyr got up and scanned the area. "JJ, I detect a way for the riflemen to climb down, 20 meters to the left. However, I am detecting movement on the hillside, possibly IMC forces." This set a sense of urgency through me, "Next time lead with that! Can you confirm IFF tags?" Zephyr scanned again, "Hostile forces confirmed." "Shit." I radioed my squad and they moved to cover, but we were a lot more obvious. Blue dots and red highlights appeared on the display. "Is there anything we can do?" "They are out of my range; fire support would harm the riflemen more than the IMC." Above us, the firefight crackled to life, and all I could do is watch.

"Can we get up there?"

"No."

"Can we do anything, we need to do something?" Zephyr didn't respond, but on the display, some of the red highlights became brighter, and red boxes appeared on them, accompanied by soft blips. Zephyr dashed backward and hailed the squad above us. "Fireteam Zephyr, find cover, incoming Acolyte missiles.". On the display, the blue dots scattered, diving away from the main group of IMC troops. "Firing." Zephyr let go a salvo of missiles, each finding its target, icons disappearing with every explosion. There were a still a few highlights, but my squad would have to take care of them. "Is there a way for me up?" I asked, almost frantic. "If you climb, there are tree roots to anchor yourself on, or…" he paused.

"Zephyr, now is not the time for a dramatic pause, 'or' what?"

"I was calculating, the other option being I could throw you, it's quicker, but you could be injured-".

"Let’s go with that."

"Without a jumpkit it will endanger you."

That entire time I had been watching blue dots scramble around, and some red highlight disappear. Suddenly, one of the blue dots blinked, and then dimmed. "What was that, what happened?" Jasons radioed back to you, "You need to get up here with that first aid kit!" My adrenaline rushed, and everything moved slower, but I took in and processed everything faster. I grabbed the first aid kit off the bulkhead, and thumped on Zephyrs display, "Open up!". Zephyr opened the hatch and put his hand in front of me, I stepped out, but I was already moving quick enough to leap out unto the rock wall and grab on. I began climbing, no longer aware of my previous injuries, grabbing roots and rocks, making quick progress to the top.

At the top, Weaver and Robbins were waiting to grab me. They pulled me up, and Robbins handed me her sidearm, making me realize I had left my rifle with Zephyr. "There's a few IMC left, they scattered, and are hiding amongst the trees." Weaver said, ducking behind a tree. Robbins sprinted over to where Jasons was, crouching over Pedroza. I got up from my crouched position and moved over to them carefully darting from cover to cover. Jasons saw me and moved over to allow you space to work on Pedroza. Robbins was sitting next to Pedroza, comforting him. He was breathing through his teeth and holding his shoulder. He grunted as he shifted to give me access to his shoulder, "Any fun painkillers in there?" I ignored his comment and went straight to work, my adrenaline still buzzing in my ears, telling me to stay alert. The bullet had gone clean through, but he had a decent hole left in him. I cleaned around it and shoved a needle full of some numbing agent into his shoulder. "Good thing you're not a nurse" he grumbled. I grabbed a can full of medical foam, used to fill and seal wounds. It's biodegradable and would melt into his system when its life span was done. This one was an antibacterial agent, so it would sting for a bit, but the grunt couldn't feel it. After I filled it, I put gauze on it, wrapping around his shoulder. When I was done doing what I could he looked at me, concerned. "You'll be just fine, didn't look like it hit anything too important, but I’m no medic." "Gee, thanks doc." I stood up, and I heard gunfire in the nearby.

"Sit-rep, now!" I ordered, and Jasons radioed back, "Last of the IMC forces eliminated." I went to give Robbins back her sidearm, but she was worrying needlessly over Pedroza, who was enjoying the attention. I walked back to the ledge and looked at Zephyr, who had put all his guns away and was standing relaxed. He looked up at me, "Is Pedroza alive?"

 "Yeah he's fine, just decided to take a bullet in his shoulder is all." "I doubt that he would've wanted that."

 "Sarcasm buddy, sarcasm." The Titan shifted, as if me calling him buddy made him uncomfortable. Behind me my squad had caught up to me, Pedroza holding his arm to his torso. Everyone was intact, except him. "We'll get you a sling for that." He nodded, and I moved on looking for the area that Zephyr said would work as a way down. The section was steep, and Weaver and Robbins went down first. Zephyr picked them up off the wall and placed them by his feet. Pedroza went down next, kinda climbing, but more of sliding down on his ass. Zephyr picked him up, and Robbins went to dust him off. Needed to watch those two for a budding relationship, they always made for good bets. Jasons and I went down, Zephyr picked us both up, but only put Jasons down. He tried to place me on top of him, but I started protesting. He brought me down again, at a height so that I was in front of his blue eye. "Are you alright?" His eye flashed every time he spoke, causing my face to be tinted blue.

"I am not, I repeat not, getting hit in the head by a branch again." The Titan didn't seem to think that putting me down was an option, so he placed me in him. Once inside the display lit up, and the squad formed up around Zephyr, more tense than before. Even though the tension was palpable, Jasons cracked a joke with Pedroza who laughed until he winced in pain. “What did he say?” Zephyr replayed his video feed of the two and enhanced the audio. Jasons voice played through the speakers, “I guess she really is done branching out.”


End file.
